Product Manager - CPO External Lightsources (ELS)

About the role

Product Manager – CPO External Lightsources (ELS) based in San Jose (on-site). Ayar Labs is pioneering co‑packaged optics (CPO) to move data at the speed of light, backed by NVIDIA, AMD, Mediatek and Intel. As the Product Line Manager for External Laser Sources, you will own the commercial and technical success of the laser modules that enable our optical I/O engines, bridging advanced photonics engineering with hyperscale data‑center demands, defining strategy, positioning, and scaling external laser sources for next‑generation AI scale‑up architectures.

Responsibilities

• Own the Product Line strategy for the SuperNovaTM laser sources.
• Author comprehensive PRDs that set the direction for engineering and manufacturing execution.
• Perform competitive analysis and benchmarking of different laser source technologies and suppliers; help drive supplier selection strategy with Engineering and Operations.
• Develop high‑quality white papers, datasheets, application notes and other collateral for customers and partners; work with ecosystem partners and MSA groups to ensure industry‑wide interoperability.
• Lead lightsource products through the internal PLC gate process; collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Operations and other functions to ensure high‑volume manufacturing readiness.
• Act as the primary interface for Tier‑1 Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), xPU architects and networking OEMs regarding laser reliability and deployment.

Requirements

• 5+ years in Product Management or Technical Marketing within the semiconductor or optical communications industry.
• Expertise with laser technologies and the design, manufacturing and go‑to‑market for pluggable optical modules.
• Direct experience with ELSFP, CMIS or similar standards is highly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics or Optics.
• Strong project management and communication skills; self‑motivated to execute with minimal direction.

Qualifications

• MBA (preferred).
• Experience with silicon photonics and the requirements of hyperscale datacenter GPU and switch customers (preferred).

Pay

Salary range: $170,000 - $223,000